For 5 years, starting in 2014, I've hosted a FB group for people to post/review books they read throughout the year. You can read the original post here. My goal has always been to at least hit the number of the last two digits of the year. Last year was the only year I haven't made it so far. I'm proud to say I not only made it to 18 this year, I surpassed it by 11 books.
So let's get to it. Here is my list from 2018.
1. This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
2. Iced by Robert Grindy
3. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
4. Artemis by Andy Weir
5. Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstances by Ruth Emmie Lang
6. In the Woods by Tana French
7. The Likeness by Tana French
8. The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin
9. Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee
10. Tangerine by Christine Mangan
11. A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
12. One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballard
13. Cocoa Beach by Beatriz Williams
14. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
15. The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
16. The Outsider by Stephen King
17. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
18. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
19. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
20. On Turpentine Lane by Elinor Lipman
21. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
22. Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
23. You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott
24. The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
25. Crazy, Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
26. There There by Tommy Orange
27. Tribe by Sebastian Junger
28. Elevation by Stephen King
29. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
29 for the year, 27 fiction, 2 nonfiction
9 Recurring Authors: Andy Weir, Melanie Benjamin, Sue Grafton, Beatriz Williams, Ruth Ware, Stephen King, Kristin Hannah, Elinor Lipman, Robert Galbraith
21 Never Read Before Authors (yes, I did the math - two authors for Guernsey): Laurie Frankel, Robert Grindy, Kathleen Rooney, Ruth Emmie Lang, Tana French, Mira T. Lee, Christine Mangan, Chris Ballard, Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows, Chloe Benjamin, A.J. Finn, Shari Lapena, Maria Semple, Megan Abbott, Kevin Kwan, Tommy Orange, and Sebastian Junger
Books with Movie or T.V. Tie-Ins (At Least That I'm Aware Of ) : The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (Bravo, Netflix! Well done!) and Where'd You Go Bernadette?
And now for the best part...the made-up awards! There are some repeat awards and naturally, some new ones included this year.
First up: the new awards:
The "First Time I Ever Counted a Previously Read Book On My List" Award goes to... Sue Grafton.
If you read my post from last year, you'll see my explanation about how Grafton's death affected my dismal total last year. I had to go back to where it all started to get some closure.
The "Welcome Back (It's About Damn Time)" Award...Lethal White
The wait felt like forever.
The "This Writer's Still Got It" Award... Stephen King
Honestly, what other writer do you know who can span decades and still keep you captivated whether it's a 1000 plus page tome (The Outsider) or a quickie (Elevation)? Not many.
The "I Could Hear the Soundtrack Playing and It Sounded Like a Hitchcock Movie" Award goes to...Tangerine
The "Blew Me Away Debut" goes to...Tommy Orange
There There put him on the map. Can't wait to see where his career goes.
Now for some repeat awards...
And the "I've Read Everything This Author Has Written" Award goes again to...Melanie Benjamin, but also Elinor Lipman, Sue Grafton, and Tommy Orange too, I guess
"Best New Author Find" goes to... Tommy Orange. He's a multiple award winner this year. What do you know?
The "Made Me Cry" Award...One Shot at Forever
Sometimes nonfiction has a way of doing that because you know it's true.
The "Page Turner" Award...The Outsider, Elevation, Lethal White, and On Turpentine Lane
And my favorite, the "Stayed With Me Longest in an Unsettling but Fascinating Way" goes to...There There by, you guessed it, Tommy Orange
There you have it. Feel free to join us over at 19 Books in 2019 on Facebook. Hope to see you there.
